Digital painting in PS

[bondakutti]

Thanx for the tips!! I will try to keep them in mind. I am wondering if someone in the prvious posts has shown how their layers look like, I am not sure how to blend 2 layers together, well i will just have to try...

-b

[crdf]

bondakuttiTexture quality on your apples is interesting and I think you did a nice job for your first digital apple painting! :) Though I think you should work on the blending a bit more, especially on those shadows. They are too crisp and not blending with the background. Also, try not to use the smudge tool to blend your work. It makes colors smear rather than blend the two together, so you tend to get these kind of swirl patterns instead.

Tnx for the reply :)

Yes, the shadow need fixing ... I just forget about it ooops. And I also read in the first posts not to use the smudge tool. Where does it look like i used it? To have in my mind how to pain from now on
And again thank you for the raply. I realy love this forum. :D And this thread ....

Later:

So i fixed the apple a little and tryed to paint an apricot watching from a picture ..... It is too shiny, and the background shoud be in other colour but couldn't deside what. I dont know how to make it look more realistic, more mat (mat/dull - what is the correct word?). Hope I dont spam too much in the thread.

[bondakutti]

Beautiful apricot & apple CRDF... I will try to blend the shadows as well. will post later with blended apple/shadow.

I only wish is that u had chosen a different background for your apricot..it's not standing out, but of course then you'd have not brought out the shadow...mmm...

[Meli Hitchcock]

crdf
Originally my post was directed toward Bondakutti. ;) Sorry for the confusion. But your apple painting, your newest one, looks better! Only thing I could possibly suggest is making the shadows nearest the apple a little darker since the value is pretty close together. But that apricot is awesome! I don't think the highlights look all that shiny really, and it looks pretty close to the photo. You could try for the next piece using a background color that’s complimentary to the fruits color. Also if you want to get some of that texture like in the photo, have you tried making any custom brushes to add roughness to it? I totally encourage making up some new brushes and experimenting with them as the results you get can be really interesting. :)

[crdf]

crdf
Originally my post was directed toward Bondakutti. ;) Oh my ... I am so sorry. My mistake. I thought You are talking for my apple.
Thanks for the tip for the shadow. Tommorow I will try make it looks better ... in the morning
Yeeee Heppy. You liked my apricot :D Hehehe - verry verry heppy. :P
Well i tryed to use "spatter 59 pixels" but finelly the apricot looked like a lemon. (link (http://85.91.138.131/k1I2.jpg)) Maybe i really have to try make my one brush.. So again thank you sooo much :)

P.S. What means " background color that’s complimentary to the fruits color" ... Can PM the answer. Just cant translate it.

[Meli Hitchcock]

P.S. What means " background color that’s complimentary to the fruits color" ... Can PM the answer. Just cant translate it.

Complementary (due to my retardation, I spelled it wrong originally) colors are refering to colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel. Reds complement color is green, yellow's is violet, blue's is orange just as an example. Hope that clarify's it better. :)

Also, if you want to explore making new texture brushes, I highly recommend reading Linda Berkgvist's tutorial on how to do that. You can find her tutorial here (http://www.furiae.com/index.php?view=gallery).

[Idiot Apathy]

*Pops his head in*
Complementary refers to completing, in the case of a color wheel it refers to completing the use of all primary colors (Red, yellow and blue if we're talking pigment based here). So, red's complement is green? Green is a mixture of yellow and blue - there you have Red Yellow and Blue. Blue's is Orange? Orange is a mixture of Red and Yellow, so on and so forth.

See, the color wheel is a nice bit of mathematical genius! So, if you have a hard time remembering complements maybe you can figure it out like this?
*Runs away*

P.S. More color theory 'n junk in the Peer Project V1 and V2. Links in signature.

[Nicko]

Hi All. Yet another newbie here

Just recently bought my tablet and i'm a little confused about the methods of shading. I can shade halfway decent with a pencil but with the tablet i'm very lost. What kind of settings should I apply to the tablet and photoshop? Also what kind of brushes should I be using for beginners?

Thanks

[Datameister]

If you're new to digital painting in Photoshop, read the first few pages of this thread very thoroughly and try this CGWiki article (http://wiki.cgsociety.org/index.php/Photoshop), too. Bottom line, you want the stylus pressure to affect opacity and/or flow.

[Nicko]

Thanks Datameister,

Ok, i've read up on digital painting and decided to start with my wacom pen holder (I have no fruits in my home :\ )

I'd like to know what I need to do to improve on the detail.

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/penholder1.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/penholder2.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/penholder3.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/penholder4.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/penholder5.jpg

[Nicko]

Tablets are so addictive after you get used to it :[

My second try at still life on my desk. Speakers

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/speakers1.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/speakers3.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/speakers5.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/speakers6.jpg

http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l307/NickoGrand/speakers8.jpg

[Meli Hitchcock]

Nicko, those speakers look great!

Tried painting with a whole new brush tonight. And again fiddle with texture making. This one looks so flat though, not a lot of contrast. I think my next investment on my table will be an adjustable swing lamp. All I have are tall pole style which I can't make dynamic lighting with.

[Kitiker]

Hi everyone, long time, no post.

Here's some progress on my latest: a beer bottle. Incomplete, but I'm trying to limit myself to around an hour at a time, hopefully I will learn to progress faster.

Tips and suggestions,etc, always welcome. I am still just sticking with a standard brush, opacity set to pen pressure (Nanya: never realised that about the flow, thanks!)

[Kitiker]

Sishir, wish I could crit, but not familiar with Painter. You should start a thread like this over in the painter forum. Lookin good though

Rorke- great wips man, thanks! Good to see the progress of others styles. One crit though- the highlight on my screen looks solid white. Pops a little too much, like its been cut out of the canvass.

bondakutti, super crazy style dude,I love it. Would definately like to see more blending- post a few more so we can see your style develop. Incidently, the beer bottle is my first painting with multiple layers. I like using bumskee's advice in trying it all on one layer, it forces you to work hard at blending. If you can master the basics, the rest comes much easier.

Meli! Terrific paintings! I didn't even have to squint at the lemon. Only crit with the banana is some of the spots don't look like they are part of the skin, more like they are sitting on top of it. Swing lamp eh? must be nice, I'm working with a lamp attached to a squash raquette stuck under my printer on top of my monitor!

crdf, I have no idea how you guys do this with a mouse- looks good! Another neat trick for texture is to try painting over a pattern background.

nicko, nicely done. keep on practicing that blending and you'll have a nice rendering!

[nanyacura]

Kitiker, glad to help! Hope to see the bottle finished ;)

Too far behind to comment on everyones stuff but, great work is all I can really say right now. Keep it up!

[crdf]

Another neat trick for texture is to try painting over a pattern background.

Hey that is a smart and usefull. Thank you :)

crdf, I have no idea how you guys do this with a mouse- looks good!

Glad you like it. That is motivating me. And it is realy uncomfortable with mouse. I hope soon i will be able to get a tablet. Do you have one to sell me :)


ОК. So this is my 4th digital ... something. The handle is little toо big, but just a little. And its loosing its depth in the middle. It was not exactly on the right side when i was painting that - the handle i mean. (my cup - its biiig). And there is some hard edge on the top. But it took me .. lets see ... 3 hours and about 40 minutes. Is it normal to be so slow and to do not so great cup? (I must say I do not have experience whit drawing). And the hard shadow on the left is reflection of the edge of the table. A couldn't make it correctly. So i didnt even try to do the other reflections. The real cup is a little more shiny. And it look flat. So i have so much critic. But will post the pic. I just dont know how to fix it. May be i should just try but now i will sleeep :P.
Welll here is the cup :bashful: You can give a critic.

P.S. I have the feeling my english is awful .... I wonder why ;)

[unu]

bumskee, guyz ... this thread was a real motivation to me but u got to tell me something about this paint
it is my first process and it is not done well ... i'm sorry
keep it up, a lot of people learn alot of things from u guyz
bumskee, by the way, looooove your blizzard entry (sanctuary)

[Andrento]

I´ve been scouring these forums for a real beginner thread about how to use a tablet but haven´t found one.

Short story, I went and bought one of these wacom thingies without knowing what I got myself into and now I´m clawing my eyes out in frustration.

I´ll insert an image to show what I mean (and you can claw your eyes out from how hideous my drawing is)

http://mgroover.sytes.net/tmp/apple.jpg

To the right is the father of this thread, bumskees apple (obviously). To the right is mine. See my predicament? My drawing is pixely and always the same thickness (unless I change thickness/opacity manually but that can´t be the point?).

My setup can be seen in the screenshot. Please tell me whats wrong with it? Also, does it have importance if you´re zoomed in?

I realize I should be ashamed posting this ridicule but I´m sort of desperate (these wacom boards are kind of expensive and I want to get started).

If you can point me to some kind of literature or workshop I´ll be happy to skip along and stop bothering all of you.

[nanyacura]

My setup can be seen in the screenshot. Please tell me whats wrong with it? Also, does it have importance if you´re zoomed in?

I realize I should be ashamed posting this ridicule but I´m sort of desperate (these wacom boards are kind of expensive and I want to get started).
.


HEheehhe..you're using the pencil tool, that's why.
Try using the paintbrush tool ;) And try setting "other dynamics" on while setting "opacity jitter" to "pen pressure".
What kind of wacom tablet do you have?

[Kitiker]

What Nanya said. Also, under "Brush Tip Shape"- reduce the spacing to 1-5%, or thereabouts, if it's not already. The default is 25% which will give you a bubbly line.
Don't worry Andreto, we won't lynch you. Unless you don't post some painting!

Still working on that bottle guys, just a busy week here.

[piratemasque]

Okay, I tried my hand at all these tips and stuff last night, and this took about an hour. It's a bead (I called it The Bean when I was working on it) on some costume jewelry thing, the Bean was just over 1cm long. This was really late at night, so yes, my eyes were about to fall out. It's metallic but I only see the realism when you shrink it down to...well, life size I guess, as you can see at the very bottom after the finished version. XD

[Studio Colrouphobia]

I need to do some stuff and post here, might take half a month though as Im changing ISP and is loosing hookup for atleast ten days.
Excellent topic though!!

[Studio Colrouphobia]

http://community.conceptart.org/gallery/I/2005/01/01/14098.jpg

..or it might take half a day...

Happy with the top of the apple, but not the bottom.

And of course I saved the file as JPG rather then in the layers that showed the lines and each and every step.

Cheated though...I used a bit of smudging to even out the outer edge of the apple on the top...

Not so bad for first try with my tablet (I use a Trust tablet). I have painted for quite a while, but always with mouse on the computer...

[Andrento]

I love this forum, this is internet when it works. I hope that if I ever get good at this I´ll be as humble as you guys and help complete newbies too.

Nanyacura, Kitiker, I´ve played around some with your suggestions and it makes perfect sense! So this is what its all about! :-)

I got me a Intuos3 A5 Wide by the way. Will definitively post something I´ve done in the future.

[poebae]

Hey guys, I've been lurking in this thread for a while now, and I know I'm about 10 years late, but I finally I went out and bought a tablet yesterday. I've never tried painting anything in PS before, but after reading this thread I thought I'd give it a shot.

Here's my first attempt (from photo reference):

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/061005_Pear.jpg

Second attempt (from life):

Took a bit longer this time because I tried to add little details, but overall it's looking much too flat for my liking. Can anyone tell me why? Is it the crappy edges?

I think I'm depending on using too many colours, instead of learning how to blend to get what I want.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/Apple3.jpg

One more:

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/061005_Cucumber.jpg

[nanyacura]

Took a bit longer this time because I tried to add little details, but overall it's looking much too flat for my liking. Can anyone tell me why? Is it the crappy edges?


It's not so much the edges as it is the chunky brush strokes and not having a dark enough core shadow for the fruits. "Core shadow" is the shadow that follows along the form of the fruit or object you're trying to draw. It could also be your light source - is it coming from a diagonal, or is it coming from the front? Or the back? Usually if it's coming from the side, that helps. :)

[poebae]

It's not so much the edges as it is the chunky brush strokes and not having a dark enough core shadow for the fruits. "Core shadow" is the shadow that follows along the form of the fruit or object you're trying to draw. It could also be your light source - is it coming from a diagonal, or is it coming from the front? Or the back? Usually if it's coming from the side, that helps. :)
Thanks for the response :rendered:

Unfortunately, I'm not quite understanding everything you said.

When you say 'chunky brush strokes', is that speaking in general of the overall painting? Or referring to a specific area?

Also, with the 'core shadow, would I be correct in assuming you're not referring to the cast shadow underneath the fruit?

As for my light source, the light was coming from above (and kind of the front), and the highlight on the right is a reflected light off a sheet of paper that happened to be there :)

[nanyacura]

Thanks for the response :rendered:

Unfortunately, I'm not quite understanding everything you said.

When you say 'chunky brush strokes', is that speaking in general of the overall painting? Or referring to a specific area?

Also, with the 'core shadow, would I be correct in assuming you're not referring to the cast shadow underneath the fruit?

As for my light source, the light was coming from above (and kind of the front), and the highlight on the right is a reflected light off a sheet of paper that happened to be there :)

When I say "chunky brush strokes" I mean that the paintbrush you used had a high opacity, and therefore a lot of the circular shapes of it were left behind that are not actually a part of the fruit - it could have been blended in a little more. The apple is a little better with the blending, but it was mostly the pear.
Core shadow is not a cast shadow, no. I'm talking about the shadow ON the fruit that's almost missing right now. Because you have your light source coming in from the top, there should be a heavy core shadow that is almost as dark as the cast shadow on the bottom of the pear and apple, but you let your reflective light come on too strong and it was lost.

[cardboard_cowboy]

Hey all. Like many others, this is my first post and my first attempt at digital painting. After browsing the artists up top and the forums I had to give this a shot.

So, here is my green pepper done in Photoshop CS2. It turned out alright i think. I struggle with realism due to my graphic/cartoon nature, so this was tough!

http://static.flickr.com/113/261908937_3fceb7e03d.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/93/261906649_6e50b32d2b_o.png

feel free to throw some crit my way.

[Studio Colrouphobia]

The pepper turned out very well I thought- I have a problem with "two-shadows" myself, but that is a preference thing...

I like the coarsness of the image, on the other hand, it might look more like a sketch then a finished product simply because of the coarsness.

I leave that to better suited people to decide...

Looks very good.

I also like the pear very much, though I must say it has to do with style.
The realism-part of the pear is lacking in that it is so coarse (like nanyacura said) but I cant help but really like the pear.

The apple looks like you put a layer f soft white over t, or like you turned up the tv brightness to max. Which isn't that nice. It looks very nice, but the way it looks like someone upped the brightness of their tv (or monitor) makes it look very off.
Sorry if it sounds harsh, not intended as putting you down.
I dont know what you can do about the "brightness" thing...maybe using less gray in the colours?

[poebae]

EDIT: Since getting the first post on a new page seems to be an achievement of sorts, I'll make a mention of it here :D

When I say "chunky brush strokes" I mean that the paintbrush you used had a high opacity, and therefore a lot of the circular shapes of it were left behind that are not actually a part of the fruit - it could have been blended in a little more.
Ahh, I understand what you mean now, especially looking at the base of the pear. I'll try to keep that in mind next time :)


Core shadow is not a cast shadow, no. I'm talking about the shadow ON the fruit that's almost missing right now. Because you have your light source coming in from the top, there should be a heavy core shadow that is almost as dark as the cast shadow on the bottom of the pear and apple, but you let your reflective light come on too strong and it was lost.
Thanks! This piece of advice was invaluable! It never even occurred to me that there would be shadows on the fruit itself.

I opened up the painting again and went over it randomly for about 30 seconds with the burn tool (I know it's not good to use and I don't plan to use it for colouring in the future, but because you talked about shadows, I decided to darken it in some areas to see if it would make it 'pop')


I also like the pear very much, though I must say it has to do with style.
The realism-part of the pear is lacking in that it is so coarse (like nanyacura said) but I cant help but really like the pear.
Hey, thanks :) I know you're not saying that it's technically brilliant, but considering it's the first thing I've ever attempted to paint, I'm flattered that it would appeal to someone :D

The apple looks like you put a layer f soft white over t, or like you turned up the tv brightness to max. Which isn't that nice. It looks very nice, but the way it looks like someone upped the brightness of their tv (or monitor) makes it look very off.
That makes a lot of sense! After I did the burning thing mentioned above, I changed the Levels, and what I saw was exactly the same effect as when I used Levels to brighten up a dull-looking photo. It made me realise that I'm using way too much grey, partly because I'd read so much about people over-saturating their colours.

Sorry if it sounds harsh, not intended as putting you down.
I dont know what you can do about the "brightness" thing...maybe using less gray in the colours?
No no, not at all. I have nothing to offer and everything to learn, so any comment (even if it's "that looks like crap. Try harder next time) will be taken on board with learning in mind.

As mentioned above, you were spot-on with the 'using less gray' thing :confident

Here's the result of about 30 seconds of playing with the image with your comments in mind. No, I don't think it looks a million times better, and I don't intend to always repeat the same process (use too much gray and fix it up with Photoshop 'tricks' afterwards), but such a simple activity taught me a lot! I know the fruit itself still looks rather flat, but I'm liking the look of the overall image a lot more.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/Apple3.jpg http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/061005_Apple_Edited.jpg

[Studio Colrouphobia]

Apple looks much better now.

Now the issue of the shaded area on the bottom of the apple is the only "big" thing that remains...

[poebae]

Apple looks much better now.
Now the issue of the shaded area on the bottom of the apple is the only "big" thing that remains...
Ahh, you're right... didn't really catch my eye at first; cheers :)

Here's the plan: An apple a day... (until I get bored of apples in a couple of days). I'll keep at it until I'm fairly comfortable with producing consistent results in a shorter amount of time (at this point I spend the first 10 minutes or so just arbitrarily swishing around a couple of colours, instead of 'blocking in' to work towards a certain result)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/poebae/061008_Apple.jpg

[JAG.]

as usual im a century late but im gonna stick in my apple anyway. i read thru the firs 800 pages of this thread and really learned more than i have in months of research and trial and error. so heres my apple..

sketch:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/2361/applesketchev8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

block colors:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/3379/apple1kj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

details:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2669/apple2tt5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

more details:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7392/apple3hn8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

bit more details & a stem:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/7188/apple4pk8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

and the final shot:
http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/139/applefinalhj0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

this was a very helpful exercies and an even more helpful thread. i can see many areas that need improvement but this was a good place to start. keep this going, this is too valuable to stop. - JAG

[SigiLee]

Hi all,

I want to start doing computer graphics (for a while now), both 2d and 3d. Never really got past the stage of trying to make complicated (detailed) stuff, giving up rather quickly. Not wanting to "waste" my time on stuff like the fruit in this topic ;). Got a tablet for a while now but never really made anything nice with it.

Punched myself in the head today for being stupid and started toning that apple. Didn't do real linework to start it. Just quick contour in the colours I used and filled it in.

Real nice thread here and seeing some really great results and improvements, which inspired me into the apple :)

The result is not too clean I think, but for a first real attempt at making/colouring stuff I'm pretty pleased. Please excuse the lousy shadow drop ;)

Greets, Tim

[Thaelys]

Hey, I just noticed this thread. Last week the assignment for my Digital Painting class was an apple in monochromatic. The point of the exercise was to practice some value technique. I've done one apple already, and I'm working on a second one. You are all working in color so you're one step ahead of me :[

The only brushes I use are the pencil brush with dynamics->pen pressure, the bristle brush for some texture, and a little stock soft brush. These two are in my sketchbook.

http://home.comcast.net/%7Emk1anton/ca_sketchbook/ks_apple_01.jpg

The one below is still WIP, but I should finish it tonight. My third apple will be in color just for this thread.

http://home.comcast.net/%7Emk1anton/ca_sketchbook/ks_apple_02_wip.jpg

[pava]

wow, i really am having trouble with this blending.. Ive read through the thread multiple times, and i understand the method (i think..), but i just can't get it to work.. Any more cool tips?


ps, great thread.. keep it up!

[dwellerbythesea]

This is an awesome thread, I'm learning a lot just by reading through it. I finally got around to doing a pear to start off my practicing.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n264/dwellerbythesea/pear.jpg

I don't think it turned out very clear, but it was good practice, though it has admitedly increased the loathing I have for my mouse.

[r@v]

been keeping track of this thread for ages. :D Huge thanks to bumskee. :D
i didnt attempt anything as i didnt have a wacom, now that i finally got one today i gave it a try.
As i wanted to concentrate on the painting aspect i used one of bumskee's line drawing from the first page (i hope you dont mind :( ). Overall im pleased with the outcome but i know im no where near the quality that everyone else is at. :) gotta start somewhere.

http://img342.imageshack.us/img342/4623/apple1fr9.png

for my second try i'll do my own line drawing and also post the steps :D

[taylormadejames]

Hey i am also new to this like the last post from Rav. I have looked at this thread several times and found previous posts very helpful when it came to trying my first image. I dont think this image is to bad and is definatly something to build upon. Thanks again to previous posts.45915

[L I K E Design]

LOL :D heres my second wacom drawing ever :D!..

[Balsamic]

Here are two apples.

yesterday:
http://www.twentytwofourteen.com/projects/Sketches/appletest.jpg
and today:
http://www.twentytwofourteen.com/projects/Sketches/10.28.06rs.jpg

What's the best way to deal with edges? I can't seem to get anything I paint to mesh well with the background.

[Datameister]

If you see a problem with an edge, go in small and correct it. OR you can do the object on a new layer, block in the shape, and then hit the "Lock Transparent Pixels" button on the Layers palette. This will make it so you can only paint in areas you've already painted, and the edges will be preserved.

[Starlet]

Hey all,
As you can see, I'm new here too :)
I see that there are a lot of new ppl. Hope this will contribute a lot to this great thread.

Here you can see my first try on a tomato
41572
and 2 white lillies.
41568
The problem that I encountered myself is that I find it hard to make hard lines. It all stays so blurry. :[

Btw, I love the Smudge tool :)

[r@v]

If you see a problem with an edge, go in small and correct it. OR you can do the object on a new layer, block in the shape, and then hit the "Lock Transparent Pixels" button on the Layers palette. This will make it so you can only paint in areas you've already painted, and the edges will be preserved.
cool, i totally forgot about using lock pixels. thanks :D ive done a few now, but they all suffered from having jaggy/ messy outlines making the shapes a little distorted. :(

here is my most recent one. I didnt use any references for this (hides:nohope: ):

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/5214/fruitmixdm6.png

this one was painted with a ref :) but the shape is weird, it also seems more 2D than 3D :(

http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/1998/apple2eh3.png

@ Starlet: those are awesome :D I love the white lillies. :D

[Gatts]

So yeah I'm trying to start doing some painting in Photoshop and I've enjoyed this thread a lot today so I figured I'd post something I did for practice. It would be cool if you tell me what you think. All was done in 1 layer.

First I tried to make a replica of one of Bumskee's earlier apples because I thought it would be good for practice to do it according to his steps. The second one is done from a refference from google.

[r@v]

those are great :) How did you get them tobe so shiny? thats the kind of quality im trying to achieve so well done :p
I think you just need to work on improving your shape and then its perfect. :D

[Gatts]

Thanks man.

I took a white-ish colored hard brush and put the opacity on 20% and flow on 33% (or somewhere around that number) scribbled a bit at the spot I wanted the light to be, then did it again with a smaller brush with 40% opacity etc.

To finish it up I took the color of the part of the apple the light was one and used the same brush but bigger on 10% opacity and went over the white for a bit to make it blend in. Hope it helps :)

[MikeG]

Ok so Im pretty brand new to these forums and just found this thread so I thought I'd try to paint an apple, like on the first page. I just got this wacom tablet, and this is literally my first attempt at ever painting something from scratch like this. Ive been learning how to do comic book coloring for the past two years or so, with a mouse. But I figured now that I have a tablet I should try to learn how to actually make some art. Any crits and comments are always welcome, and I look forward to learning and growing with you guys, here is the stages of my apple.
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/MilanaGreene/applesketch.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/MilanaGreene/applestage2.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/MilanaGreene/applestage3.jpg
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d148/MilanaGreene/applecopy.jpg

[r@v]

excellent line drawing :D i dont understand how so many people get the apples to look so shiny, lol. :p For your next painting you could maybe use darker colours.

@ Gatts: thanks for the help too. :D

[Starlet]

lol, i have been trying to get around those hard shiny parts on the objects that I paint.
Perhaps with that good explenation from Gatts I might try that too soon.
For the time being I'm liking the flowers :) Atm I'm without internet
so I can't post that often, here is how far I'm at with my new one, a magnolia flower:

43454

As you can see I'm not quite done yet. If someone has some tips for me,
i would be glad with it :).
The final one comes soon.

[JAG.]

hey that looks great so far man.. id suggest increasing the contrast between the colors and shadows. make the white really vivid and darken the shaded areas.. deepen the green's value. as it is, it looks a bit dull and desaturated. but the work is great nonetheless. keep it up - JAG

[spuhn]

I've been reading this thread for several days now, and all I can say is THANKS to everyone here. I've really been inspired by all of you. So I brushed off the dust from my wacom, and started working in PS again. I joined just so to post here, but hopefully some day I will be able to do some COW's, so cool! I originally was very discouraged working with the wacom, because i just didnt have a clue what to do, untill you guys made it quite a bit clearer.

I didnt have any apple(my wife ate all of them durring the week). But luckily she dosnt like mangoes! so I drew a mango. And I even saved all my steps. So this is my first study in PS. It's not perfect, but I've learned alot from you guys just reading over the posts, so if you would be so kind as you help me learn what i did wrong with this I'd really appreciate it!

FYI - i'm not sure i added the images correctly... I'm new to this whole forum thing

Steps 1, 2, and 3
1. My basic sketch, wasnt too complicated.
2. Blocked in my basic colors, and created a background color, to help put in place.
3. Started blending using a large/med hard brush at about 50% opacity. Used it to create some tones inbetween the main colors.

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=44970&stc=1&d=1162660655


Steps 4,5,6, and 7
4. Continued blending.
5. More blending using a large hard edge brush, with med to low opacity. I also realized at this point i choose a bad green(i'm still learning) so i added it to my palate. A mango floating in space was really bothering me, so I added a shadow to anchor it to the table.
6. Yet another correction to my green color, and I finally saw there were some yellowish specs i needed a color for. So I added that too. I also started playing with the brush setting, and used the scatter, and texture to start adding some texture to the mango skin.
7. The missing sticker was starting to bother me, so... In it went! Along with some basic highlights. I also realized i needed a darker color to shade with(added to palate)

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=44972&stc=1&d=1162660729

Step 8 - Expanded on the highlights more using a variation of the scatter settings, and just plain hard edge low opacity brush. As well as more blending, shading, and texturing

http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=44973&stc=1&d=1162660729


Step 9 - Finished at last! -
Added the much needed stem, and finished up the shading, highlights and redid the shadow completely. I'd say my hardest part was shading, I still feel it's not shaded enough, but... that's how it looked on my table... any suggestions?
http://conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=44974&stc=1&d=1162660729


Looking forward to the crits! Thanks for this post!

P.S. hmm the images dont show inline in the preview... what did I do wrong? sorry ya gotta click on the links to see the images.

[Starlet]

Here is my finished Magnolia flower.

45067

Thanx for the feedback Jag, hope i aplied them enough :)
About the vividness of the colours, the last pic was a bit of a low quality which might have caused the vage colours.

Really good work Spuhn, especially for a first time :), I love your colour sceme.
I see you have problems with the outer lines of your picture. I always use smudge on various strongnesses. You could try to play around with it, for the edges I always use a 90% to 100%. Hope you can do something with this. Looking forward to more work of yours. Keep us posted.

[Idiot Apathy]

Tigggggggght rendering. 'though it was perhaps not the objective, could maybe use a nice focal point. Right now I'm bouncing back and forthe between the shiny parts on the leaves - might seem like 'cheating' to you, but you could spice up just a part of the flower - perhaps the inside portion with a touch or two of pure white. Just a thought, cheers!

[spuhn]

Thanks Starlet!

all i gotta say is WOW that looks damn good. I hope i can be as good as you some day. Ya i noticed after i finished my edges were not smooth at all.. wasnt sure what to do about it. My initial thought was to block in the outline and then just lock the transparency.. but alas, my finished work is only as good as the start. Thanks for the advise i'll have to try it.

[smuggler]

First Try with Tablet.

http://www.smugg.de/gfx/painting/apfel.jpg

http://www.smugg.de/gfx/painting/obst.jpg
The Kiwi are little bit strange :)

http://www.smugg.de/gfx/painting/asterix.jpg

Crits are welcome

[r@v]

Havent chance to do another one with all the school work being thrown at me :(

@starlet: WOW! im speechless. That flower is amazing. :)

@smuggler: great first attempts. try adding more finer details in for your next pieces. :)

[Starlet]

Thanx for all the praise you guys, it really keeps me motivated to do more :)
Am thinking of giving a try with clouds, I just love clouds, am always looking upwards.

Nice first try smuggler. I would sudgest a bit more contrast between the objects. Keep it up ;).

[max xiantu]

I've been working on the Peer Project first exercise and struggling with the specularity and painting in photoshop in general. Thankfully there's this thread.
So I painted my first apple, I'm gonna have to do this again, but with another apple. Cos I ate it.

Crits please. Help my next one be better. Thank you!

[taylormadejames]

Since my last post i have being trying different techinques and have recently got a graphics tablet. This is one of my best attempts with it so far. I think this is better than my first attempt and found one of the previous posts from Mike G helpful. I am now trying to work on line drawings. 45919

[RichardPajuelo]

Well, this is my apple in Adobe Photoshop CS. Brush and Smudge Tools between 50 to 100% Strength.

[TK-Designs]

First of all, I just wanted to say bumskee, that I signed up for these forums because of this tutorial. It really got me back into drawing more and doing more digital work.

Second, I have to say, a lot of these paintings you guys and girls have been doing are excellent!

So here is my attempt at it. My 2nd attempt actually. I think it came out pretty well. No smudging or blurring used, just the technique bumskee explained. Hope you guys like it! :}

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/5356/paintingpractice02re9.jpg

[Gatts]

That's really good man. Nothing really to comment on for me.

[Magicbear]

Hello! This thread is great, it's really given me a kick up the butt to get to grips with painting digitally at long long last. I've only been here a week and already I've learnt so much - you guys are great sharing your knowledge so openly, it's really refreshing :bow:

Anyway, my FIRST apple:

http://static.flickr.com/114/291511643_9953cb03eb_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/106/291511646_66b19cf4be.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/103/291511650_83e8cc9d71.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/118/291511651_484470cdb8.jpg

It's not remotely fabulous - need to create a space for the object to sit in and practise detail - in fact practise everything! Gonna try another apple and a lemon!

[Magicbear]

....my second! What do you think? Maybe brush size too small for the smoothing? It looks like too many lines and I was getting bogged down, so plse crit...


http://static.flickr.com/109/291558350_6d05898d08.jpg

[Tatsuki™]

hmm i did this a while ago. And im sorry if it seems crappy

i did it with a mouse for at least 1 hour or more. Im glad i tried it out thanks to your tut because since then i have been doing realism with a mouse and photoshop cs so cheers!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/8510/whenboredpaintanapplebynb2.jpg

[TK-Designs]

I think that looks pretty good Tatsuki. Using a mouse is pretty hard when doing stuff like this. I'm sure if you get a Wacom tablet you can bust out some awesome stuff!

[Magicbear]

Tatsuki, good mouse! I can't do anything with a mouse - your apple's good.
I like the stork and the relections at the top of the apple, nice detail.

I'm trying to do a lemon today :^^;:
How hard can a lemon be.....very hard! It's not happening >:|

Realised today the benefits of layers, I can just keep going over and over without ditching a heap load of paper.:wink:

[Jjod27]

Here is my attempt at the apple. This is my first post. I am kind of scared. but just a little FYI. I did not draw this on a wacom, or with a mouse. I used the thumb pad on my ibook. That is all I have right now.
http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o142/jjod27/apple-1.jpg

[r@v]

havent used a thumb pad so cant give any tips on the techniques used, however, for your next piece add more finer details and you need to define the shape more (something im hopeless at).

A good first attempt though. :D And dont feel scared, you wont learn anything if you dont post your attempts. :)

[TK-Designs]

Looks like you got the basics down. Like R@v said, more detail and shape it more, but I can see that ebing difficult when using a thumb pad. That must've been hell, so, kudos on making that with the thumb pad!

[Jjod27]

Thanks you guys. Awesome.

[Tatsuki™]

thanks :D

Jjod can i say thats really good for using touch/thumb pad

[bumskee]

BOO! looking great everyone.. :P Remember, keep it simple, take more notice of your apples/mango/etc etc. Answers all there.

starlet, nice work!

tiger, less smudge tool more hard edge brushes. :)

magic bear, I really like what you are doing there. keep going! As for the second, it's better, you just gotta sit down and spend more time!

tatsuki, no idea how you pulled that off with a mouse. wacom would really help you out tho.

:)

[Idiot Apathy]

Did this tonight to de-slump myself. No face - as well, I'd rather focus on the face by itself - which I think I'll do soon actually. Bit messy in other areas too, neck and elbow specifically :(

Anyways,
Crutches used: Just having the painting area right above the ref.

Paint:
47014
Oh yeah, and check it out - 100% working size wooyeah!

Ref:
http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/8643/girlfromrefrefij5.jpg

[Tatsuki™]

lol yeh i've been practicing since i was 14 with a mouse...now 16 so yeh XD

i love that Apathy, shading/lighting and texture

[Woelig]

Long time reader, first time poster.

This is my second digital painting attempt ever, the first one was something with a robot and it was really really... uhm... bad.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/610/appleru7.jpg

At first you couldn't see it was an apple, but in the end i did some freestyling and it became something that looked like an apple. Well, a retarded apple. Close enough.

Thanks for the tutorial!

[JAG.]

starlet.. that magolia is AMAZING.. my jaw dropped to the floor. great work

Apathy.. fantastic rendering.. consider yourself de-slumped ;) - JAG

[Tsiamon]

I get the feeling that so much of this would be easier for me if I didn't have to (literally) take a picture of all of my linework, load it onto PS, and use a mouse to color it in. Pain. In. The. Rear.

Hello, Sphun. I'd recognize that avatar anywhere.

....Funny how quickly I ran across someone I know on a forum so big. 0-o

[shif-d]

Oh glory! Thank you all so much for posting examples of your work. I didn't quite get what I was doing wrong, but after I stopped reading and started looking at what was being produced... some sort of switch went off and I started to doodle.

:xpld:

Some odd hours later, of experimenting, rendered further understanding and the attached file.

I see a flow to follow with greater ease.

Thank you all! That's "Thanks" with a "much so."

[Yautja892]

Hi all, first post here. Joined this forum after reading this awesome thread. Here is my contribution, first real attempt at painting fruit with photoshop. Took about an hour and a half.


C&C Welcomed.

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3251/banannapaintingka6.th.jpg (http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=banannapaintingka6.jpg)

[TK-Designs]

Yautja, that banana looks amazingly tasty!

Here's another attempt I did tonight. Took me about an hour...hour & a half. I wanted to stray away from all the fruit so I did a wine bottle. Hope you guys like it. I'm trying to get a bit more complex with each of these practice paintings.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7875/practicebottlesl9.jpg

C+C Welcomed!! :D:D

[Steve255]

ok guys. im just gettting into digital painting. i bought photoshop cs yesterday and a wacom today... the first pic is a mouse only attempt. second is my wacom attempt. first time i used it too. mind you i does feel weird at first but im getting the hang of it... C+C welcome and mabye needed.

i did this one by mouse. its suppose to be an onion...
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Steve255/onionstart2copy.jpg

first time i used a wacom... second attempt at the onion...
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Steve255/offrms.jpg

C+C welcome!

[Steve255]

heres my first attempt at a flower...
http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Steve255/traceofflowercopy.jpg

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p127/Steve255/flowerattempt2nostem-lightscopy.jpg
bout an hour. ps.

p.s. id love crits as i am learning and need to know some tips... thanks

[rodriguez]

hey guys quite new to digital painting saw this thread and thought i'd have a go at doing my own apple so here it is

http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/511/appleishiv2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Starlet]

This is amazing, everyone is progressing so much since the last time I was here.
I haven't had internet for a while since I moved out :)
It's just great how this thread is developing.

Yautja892 - Great banana, really great!! You might work a bit more with the shading, a bit more clour difference with lift that banana out of the screen ion no time.

TK-Designs - Great subject, a wine bottle ^^ Looks like we can just get it from the screen and drink it. Wonder if it's empty in real life now ;)

Steve255 - Another flower lover :) welcome :) Really good first attempt. I would advice to make some harder lines, so that you can see where one leaf ands and another begins, for the rest you could work with some small highlight. I'm looking forward to your next painting

Keep Posting everyone!

p.s. thanx for liking my magnolia :^^:

[Ronin686]

Hey guys, this is my apple... I am actually pleased with how it turned out even though it's not even near the quality of most of the people who posted here's.

http://ronin.minornine.com/apple.red.jpg

Any crits would be highly appreciated. Thanks! :^^:


EDIT:
Added some texture and a little more detail
http://ronin.minornine.com/apple.red2.jpg

This is actually looking better than I thought it would. This is fun!

[Halflife]

Here's mine, frankly, I'm fairly disappointed.. I looked much easier when reading the posts. Painter's color blending is so much better, but I could never get the textures looking right. =\
Hoping to find some critics here.

(Next time I'll have the steps)

http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o128/halflifedarkness/apple_practice1.jpg

[nanyacura]

Sorry I haven't been around lately, guys!
I see lots of awesome apples up there, also a rather awesome looking Magnolia flower ;)

Here's a recent study I did, although I barely have time for them anymore...that's the sad part.
I have four steps, I'll try to explain the process a little.

Part 1:
I put in all the basic shapes and colors. It's rather painterly at the moment and barely anything looks like it should. I just want the basics in there to work with, so I can color pick them later with Alt.

Part 2:
I worked on the background first. I didn't use any layers besides the one, I wanted to get a feel for how it would be if I were actually painting this scene.
The background goes first, mostly because it helps amplify the objects when they start getting done. It's a process used mostly for painting on canvas, but it works real well in Photoshop too.

Part 3:
I got all of the basic shapes in there and worked everything together into one little study image.

Part 4:
Added some contrast, etc, and voila! It's done!

[Ronin686]

Could you explain exactly how you went from step 2 to step 3? It's like a jump from mediocracy to polished image.

[nanyacura]

Could you explain exactly how you went from step 2 to step 3? It's like a jump from mediocracy to polished image.

hah, yeah I guess I forgot some trinkets in there.
I used a hard round brush set at 30% opacity and 30% flow. Opacity jitter is set to pen pressure, size pressure, smoothing. (these are all brush options in the brush menu)
After that it's all a matter of sitting down and using the Alt key to color pick and smooth things out till it becomes polished like a baby's rear. In a manner of speaking (we all know babies never have clean rears, what am I talking about...)
Hope that answers some of your questions. The image itself took maybe 2 and a half hours total.

[third world wonder]

hey i'm new to this forum... i checked out this link this afternoon and decided to attempt my own apple... i just got a graphire4 4x5, this is my second time using it... no steps, i'll remember for next time...

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y91/peso/apple.jpg

i'm new to digital painting and just reading this thread has helped me immensely, i feel like i'm at least on the right track now...

[Datameister]

Looks good, though it could use a little more blending to remove those hard edges. Also, it needs a lot more shading. Decide on a direction for your light source and then build up some nice shadows on the opposite side of the apple. Contrast helps the form "read" better and gives volume to what currently feels like a rather flat shape. Here's a quick paintover to demonstrate what I'm talking about with the shading.

Good luck, and keep having fun!

[Icey]

hey guys, i've seen all the great stuff in here... Just like to share my own modest step-by-step paintings... it that's ok with you :)

this is done from life in aproximatly 4 -5 hours... Got bored with the label, because it took me more than the bottle itself...



http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/Grecia2004/IceyTut1.jpg

[TK-Designs]

Damn Icey that's a mighty fine Whiskey Bottle! I think the bottom of it could use a bit of work though. It looks a little off IMO, but excellent none the less!!

[Icey]

Thanks TK - the truth is that when i get bored i get so lazy that i just dump everything and move on to the next... And that happends after about 4 hours of working on the same stuff... :)

Luckely this was not the case :)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/Grecia2004/IceyTut2.jpg

[Zombie_Girl]

Hey Guys
some great skills on display here and great tips, I tend to use Painter so this helped my out with Photoshop, anyway here's my apple!
Jen

http://img117.imageshack.us/img117/4851/apple3copysl8.th.jpg (http://img117.imageshack.us/my.php?image=apple3copysl8.jpg)

[Algrinon]

In all my years of surfing the intarweb, I have never read a thread that was:

A) So full of invaluable information

B) So positive

C) So inspiring

I am old and am about to retire. While incredibly creative, I never could draw. Now I want to go buy a pad and try to draw. This made me feel so young again.

Thanks.

[NPok]

hi, i am new to this forum. I just brough a wacom graphire 4 this morning and i was so excited, so i decided to try this.

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/2033/appleki2.th.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/my.php?image=appleki2.jpg)

[voraz]

Just did this which I think fits this thread.

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/6136/peraupik4.jpg

By the way, great studies in here.
Icey, that bottle exercise came out really well.

[Gisaiagami]

hi
I am beginning in painting. I am having difficulty to paint then I decided to
participate This is my mace. it left half stranger to mine to see
It would not only like the opinion but also help-me

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/apple.gif

[Algrinon]

This is my first attempt. I am using photoshop 7 and a wacom :). I bought CS but adobe said I hacked it and now have to get a new cd key, and I cannot return the box until next week.

What did I do wrong? I am having a devil of a time picking out brushes. O a, not sure how to smooth.

Thanks!

[NPok]

Wow, icey your work is amazing, you inspired me to do more.
My second attempt at this

http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/6027/tomato281106cd5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

er...ops forgot the shadow

[paperX]

Here's my contribution to the thread...very inspirational works everyone especially icey, nanyacura, bumskee....and many more.

did this in around half an hour...just a quick speed paint.
First post! :yayca:

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4615/applespeedpaintec6.jpg

PS: NPok, great improvement :P

[Gisaiagami]

wow papex, very very nice
realistic :)

[paperX]

Gisaiagami: thanks alot for such a nice comment :bashful: !
my piece honestly isn't that good compared to the other great paintings in this thread....but thank you for saying such a nice thing :)
anyways....i think your piece has a very interesting colour scheme which could benefit from more tone and shading. add more distinct areas of shadow in relation to the light source to create contrast and form. im not sure if u are using a reference at the time but i would suggest getting a fruit and place it next to you while u paint
....ok im a newbie myself so i hope my comments didn't come across as being too stuck-up...hope we can all improve here in this very inspiring thread :)

[Icey]

thank you paper x! yours is way too cool ! :) you're modest
NPok - thnks! Glad to hear that!

here is somethin' more.... but no step-by-step images...
all of these are from life! includeing the bottle and the peppers
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c213/bogdannemes/0174.jpg

this is the actual size i was working on... and before i realized it, it was finished... :(
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c213/bogdannemes/0171.jpg

[paperX]

Icey: lol.....personally i think you're way more modest than me :P
btw....that banana looks simply AMAZING......just one thing, maybe make just a biiit more saturated, with higher contrast between the darker parts of the banana and the highlights.
......i probably shouldn't be trying to crit you tho...maybe when i get to a higher level :^^;: ...

here's another quicky done for bumskee's photoshop thread, done in around 50 minutes...the bumps were kinda troublesome...spent more than half the time on them...:^^;: they still turned out pretty bad in the end :(

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/5975/orangesmallqx1.jpg

[spuhn]

I get the feeling that so much of this would be easier for me if I didn't have to (literally) take a picture of all of my linework, load it onto PS, and use a mouse to color it in. Pain. In. The. Rear.

Hello, Sphun. I'd recognize that avatar anywhere.

....Funny how quickly I ran across someone I know on a forum so big. 0-o

Ahhh Tsiamon! there you are.
ya importing the line work can be a major pain. You really need to invest in a wacom, it's a life saver. Where is your apple? did I miss it?

btw great job on that painting in class so far!

Spuhn

[Algrinon]

Info:
Dell 24 inch wide screed
Wacom 5X6
Photoshop 7.0 (I cannot see upgrading to CS if I flop)
2 gigs of DDR2 Ram
AMD 64X2 4200
NVidia 7900 GTX

Problem:

I can draw with my Wacom. I love it. It took me about 8 hours dorking with it to make it work the way I needed it to but I can now sketch in black and white and am happy with my results.

I cannot color to save my life. I have followed the directions but my apple comes out looking like a brown smoothed blob. I work with layers, but it still looks terrible.

Questions:

1. In photoshop 7, how do I select the hardness? I cannot find the value for that anywhere.

2. Brushes. I tried downloading brushes but it says they are not compatible with my version of photoshop. I am so confused with brushed. I have read all the threads here dealing with brushes but I must be stupid because I cannot get the damn things to work.
Would someone kind enough walk me through this?

I uploaded my painted apple. This is my apple before my lousy paint job.

Feel free to IM me at "Melchizedek VG" on AIM

[paperX]

Algrinon: Here's the hardness setting...u can find it under brush selection or also under "brush tip shape" above shape dynamics in ur brush settings

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/8254/4algrinonlr0.jpg

also...im not sure how you load brushes in Photoshop 7.0 but i reckon it should be the same...you could either just double click on the .abr file which should load it onto photoshop or copy and paste the .abr file into ur photoshop brushes folder...its located somewhere like this:

Eg: D (or whateva drive u installed photoshop on): \Adobe\Photoshop CS2\Presets\Brushes <---example

if you dont see the brushes u have downloaded under brush selection then simply click on that little triangle arrow that i have circled in the screenshot and press on "load brushes...", then find the brush that u have downloaded and load...it should be at the bottom of ur brush selection now.

Btw...u dont really have to use fancy brushes to paint in photoshop...normally i use the default photshop brush 90% of the time...good luck with your art and i hope that this helped u :)

[Algrinon]

I don't see it! This is what I see :(

Edit: I am a moron, I found it... Gonna atempt another apple now.

[paperX]

lol ok....was just gonna reply again.....anyways, glad i could help. cant wait to see your new apple :)

[Algrinon]

I do not know how to blend... I keep trying and it looks terrible. I have no idea what to do now....

[paperX]

Algrinon: i cant really see whats going from the pic that u have attached but i think u dont have "opacity jitter" under "other dynamics"(brush settings) set to pen pressure yet....try doing that.......then use the "alt" button to pick colours from the areas u want to blend then gently blend them together. u can also manually set the opacity of ur brush using the 1,2,3 buttons (they stand for 10%, 20%, and 30% respectively). bear in mind this only works when u dont have the airbrush button selected (the one next to flow at the top). hope this helps

[Icey]

paperX - you are absolutly right - i thought about that low contrast myself, but i never go back and modify .... i just do another one that's better... :) And hey! your last one is great! keep pushing the limits! ;)

Algrinon - you don't have a hardness option in PS7... Only in PS8 i think... The diameter of the brush you can easylt do it by " [ ]" from your keyboard. PaperX advices you very well about those number buttons! If you want to blend, just use "other dinamycs" and "shape dinamycs" for that matter.... and mix up the colors on your appel! When you get it right, just push alt to select your favorite color! It's very simple, once you've done it right you get use with it.

Here is a small composition i set up to paint
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v497/Grecia2004/Untitled-1.jpg
got lazy and dumped the noggins - they were takeing too much time and you have to stop when you realise that there's no good investment ;)

[spuhn]

Icy,

Absolutly amazing work as usual. You capture the basic shape of your work from the start so easily. I think that's the hardest part. I don't know how you get your lines so pefect. like the bowls, thoes lines are perfectly round. how did you do it? can you share your secret?

As for photoshop 7 there most definatly IS a hardness setting. and in case Algrinon hasnt found it yet(i think he said he did(sorry if your not a he)) I'm gonna tell you where it is.

OK, On the top right side of your window you have to tabs, File Browser, and Brushes. Go into Brushes. Then under "Brush tip shape"
56871

I think i included a screenshot of it. I apologize, i'm having a difficult time with these image attachments.

[Gisaiagami]

Hi paperX
Not use reference
My problems is blend of colors, brush size and opacity, flow
I am confused lol
Ok. i am train the painting. The Drawing is the Daniel, my friend
Steps
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/The_fairy_witch_by_WillDan0.gif
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/The_fairy_witch_by_WillDan0.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/portrait.jpg

Ultimate Wip
The sky and grass is brush from deviantart. I not painting :(


http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/WillDan02.jpg

Desk for Photoshop Layers.
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/desk.jpg


Comments and help
I love painting but no great results o.o

[bokuza]

first post...:nohope:

Im finding it sooo difficult to even begin digital (paint) style.
Ive tweeked and stabbed my brushes to death yet I still find them not suitable for painting at all. They don't blend, and they don't reply well with pen pressure. Isnt there an option is ps cs2 where you can create a tablet profile? and configure the common pressure of a tablet user in ps cs2? or am i thinking of something else?
But anyway any tips?

[vani]

I stumbled upon this thread yesturday afternoon and was so inspired that I decided to contribute my own apple. I haven't done digital painting like this in a long time, but it was a fun refresher!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple01.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple007.jpg

~viola!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v193/vanii/opple.jpg

[Cold]

Same here.:)
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/Cold1981/apple.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/Cold1981/apple2.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/Cold1981/apple3.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/Cold1981/apple4.jpg
http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j64/Cold1981/apple5.jpg

[Magicbear]

first post...:nohope:

Im finding it sooo difficult to even begin digital (paint) style.
Ive tweeked and stabbed my brushes to death yet I still find them not suitable for painting at all. They don't blend, and they don't reply well with pen pressure. Isnt there an option is ps cs2 where you can create a tablet profile? and configure the common pressure of a tablet user in ps cs2? or am i thinking of something else?
But anyway any tips?

Hi Bokuza,

this is such a loong thread! but have you had time to go right to page 1 - you'll find a whole lot of explanations and guidence from there? It will take time to go through the whole thread but really it's worth it - I've learnt more from here in a month than I could possibly have imagined - and then some!

Anyway - don't give up!

I've got PS 7 so don't know about CS, I'm sorry but for sure someone will have some advice...

[Razorb]

I gave it a shot ! thanks cold :)
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/Razorb/AppleSteps.jpg

[Christian223]

Bokuza, if you are new with digital paint, dont focus so much on brushes, the only thing you need to start is to use the normal round brush, change sizes and dont touch the hardness of it, just use it as with maximun hardness.

If for some reason PS doesnt respond well with your tablet you could give us more details about it, and of your process of work too, then we could help.

[third world wonder]

thanks for the advice datameister... i've been busy with school but i'm gonna try to do these regularly now that i have time with christmas break...

[Idiot Apathy]

Figured I'd super-cross post and post this here too; with an invite to check out the full-size PSD in my demo thread if you'd like here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74478


Done for the on-going Offical Figure Drawing Workshop:
JOIN THE OFDW FOO!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=83709
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/IdiotApathyFinal.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/process.gif

[lawnboy]

This is my blue tonal render for school, had to go digital to get it in on time ;)

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y273/Lonboy/LapierreL_Tonal1.jpg

[lawnboy]

Figured I'd super-cross post and post this here too; with an invite to check out the full-size PSD in my demo thread if you'd like here:
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=74478


Done for the on-going Offical Figure Drawing Workshop:
JOIN THE OFDW FOO!
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=83709
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/IdiotApathyFinal.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/Ragnarok27/process.gif
thats awesome man. good work.

[L!nK]

well, this is my first post here...:rendered:
guys, you're helping me a lot... i'm a begginer in the digital arts....

this is the first apple that i made...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o64/RoBs0n/Applecpia.jpg

i don't have a tablet... i did it just with the mouse, at low opacity... is it too much different using a tablet? is it a so different result?:rolleyes:

[Re!ke]

hi all.
i have been using photoshop now for around 2 years, and ave always used it for vector art and what not and have never explored the potential in digital painting.
Today i got my hands on a waom tablet and decided to have a go. first time at this thing so my apple is definetly dodgey. i m 16 and could really do with some help. hopefully i should be adding a sketch book soon. (pencil drawings and what not)

Please give me some advice on why my apple sucks.
Thanks.

[Re!ke]

ps. sorry for the bad punctuation and spelling/

[Razorb]

hey Re!ke... i aint that good at photoshop myself either... but to me it looks like uve lost most of ur form... and when u do that.. its hard to show values ... or is it the other way around ? heh im not so sure.. here take a look.. took me 2 seconds to do a quick paintover.. hope u dont mind its just to show form and light... http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/Razorb/apppleoooover.jpg

hope this helps in some way :o oh also try some hard edged brushes :)

[Re!ke]

ah, thanks man
that explains alot. :P i ll have another go.
thanks :D

[leblon]

I just found this forum today while look for some PS tutorials. So, heres my contribution.

This took about 20 mins.
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/67a/67adbf45784cebb5837f74ddb295e829.jpg

And...

My apple gone rotten.
http://www.fotothing.com/photos/b2c/b2c1c85a941a5a3e31e7fa4a286ef35e.jpg

How silly.

[Re!ke]

hahahaha i like your rotten apple. :D

[grantrl78]

Is my brush setup right to use the hard brush? Thanks for any help. Edit pic too big :)

[leblon]

Your brush setting are fine.

[bumskee]

Tom stop showing off :P u cow.. hehe

grant, I think you have "other" dynamic turned on..

:D

[grantrl78]

Thanks Bumskee and leblon. Bumsee, You are so right. Thanx for the help.

[Johnnypbone]

I still feel so lost, ive taken photoshop classes before, and it all seems so hard, ive gotten things on my own alot bettter, im gona follow this post and try to get a good idea.

[Gisaiagami]

I am not obtaining to make the apple. I do not know if or problem is with me or with tablet I am using brush with other dynamics activated
Please Help me

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/estranho2.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/apple1.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n193/gisa_iagami/apple2.jpg

[Trashy]

man...I so needed to drag my butt back here badly. Great posts everybody!

nanyacura- I'm still staring at that piece you did on the last page...I've been staring at it for 2 hours now...wow.
Idiot Apathy- holy mother of cows...that is some nice work. OFDW eh? I think I'll drop by.


ummmmm....recently messing with doing rusty metal. I couldn't quite find a object so I referenced a couple photos of rusty metal objects and made up this shape. Sorry...forgot to save steps :nohope:

Basically blocked in the basic colors and went from there. I added some extra strokes from artrage http://www.artrage.com/

Texture used at http://mayang.com/textures/

[grantrl78]

nany you rule."Opacity jitter is set to pen pressure, size pressure, smoothing"
I can't find size pressure. :) Can you help another brother out.

The thing about this method of blending
that I don't get is how I end up with alot of hard edges.
What am I doing wrong?

[Crimson Dark]

ran across this thread the other day and I am going to try my best at learning how to paint.
any tips on how to improve on what I am doing would be great.
this was done in artweaver. about 20mins.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k26/crimson_dark/apple1paintinglesson.jpg

[Datameister]

If all you use is a hard brush, grantrl78, those hard edges are going to be fairly persistent. It'll take some time to smooth them out enough by sampling and painting at low opacity. The Smudge tool is indeed useful, but don't overuse it. Perfectly smooth blends are rarely desirable--they're too boring. But Scattering and jagged-edged brushes can produce interesting results with the Smudge tool. Experiment, but don't get too caught up in the methods. If you understand the basic principles of art well enough, brushes won't matter so much. I find that it's smart to switch brushes and colors pretty frequently--but not at random. Building up a big collection of useful brushes and understanding what colors should be used when are two very helpful assets.

Crimson Dark, I'm no ArtWeaver expert, so I can't help you with technicalities of the program. But the biggest problem I see with this apple is lack of lighting. The apple casts a shadow and has a bright highlight, but those two disagree on the position of the light source and there's no shading to help the form read. My suggestion--just work on painting a basic sphere for right now, preferably using a photo for reference. In general, round forms will have highlights, midtones, and core shadows--often with reflected light creating a brighter rim around some of the lower edges. Study this an apply it to textureless forms before applying it to textured ones like apples. You may also try working in black and white for a change.

[Crimson Dark]

thanks a lot I need to work on my lighting and shading I am having a hard time figuring shading the way that its shown in this thread I guess I will go back and start doing some sphere's.

[Re!ke]

hi again.
ok so i went away and had a total rehash at my apple. i changed the shape, and this time i got my colours off a real picture. so i was just playing round.
i feel that its a much better attempt compared to my first one, (see above)
main difficulties were blending the green and highlights and adding detail(bigest problem)
Opinions would be much appreciated
Thanks
Re!ke

[jynx]

I'm a long-time lurker at CA, and this tutorial is so great, that I just had to register to post. Thanks so much bumskee for putting it together, and to teigrob for requesting it! I've played with photoshop for years, but I've never tried digital painting before. I gave up on this at least twice, but then each time I picked it back up the next day. I'm fairly happy with how it turned out, although I know I have a long way to go. It seems the most important step is the "now that it looks like blobby arse and you want to throw your hands up with frustration, it's time to add all those details that magically make it look right." All those details give me a bit of a fit still, though. Comments and crits definitely welcome.

[grantrl78]

[QUOTE=Datameister]If all you use is a hard brush, grantrl78, those hard edges are going to be fairly persistent. It'll take some time to smooth them out enough by sampling and painting at low opacity. The Smudge tool is indeed useful, but don't overuse it. Perfectly smooth blends are rarely desirable--they're too boring. But Scattering and jagged-edged brushes can produce interesting results with the Smudge tool. Experiment, but don't get too caught up in the methods. If you understand the basic principles of art well enough, brushes won't matter so much. I find that it's smart to switch brushes and colors pretty frequently--but not at random. Building up a big collection of useful brushes and understanding what colors should be used when are two very helpful assets.

Sorry - thanx for the awesome reply. I missed it. I appreciate the help.

[alkazaa]

This is my first work on graphic tablet ^^ I used picture from Re!ke


http://alkazaa.w.interia.pl/apple.jpg

[wim]

General remark :
Try to avoid pure white in your paintings, when you look around you, very few things in nature look like that. Usually there's at least a slight hint of color in white.
Always mix a tiny bit of red/green (for the apple, in this case) in the white you use for a highlight.

[alkazaa]

ok it's my second work ^^ i made it in one hour. I do my best xD
final
http://alkazaa.w.interia.pl/cup.jpg

[Night~]

How do you add details to things when painting in PS without losing detail and making it blur, but not looking out of place?

For example, the contours of a muscle on the arm, or folds in clothes, also if the line drawing you are using is shaded as well, would you remove it from the finished image, or would you use it on another layer, altering the settings to something like multiply or soft light for the details?

Thanks

[alkazaa]

If you ask me, I skech contours on another layer. When I have more details i turn off layer with skech. I set multiply layer

[delirious]

I have read every word on every page in this thread and I absolutely DO NOT understand the hard-brush blending WHATSOEVER. I have a wacom graphire 4 that my parents spent $100 on me for x-mas, for this sole purpose. I then i find out i cant even grasp the basic of the basic. Help? :nohope:

Edit: Yeah... ok it's maybe 4 hours later and this is what I've come up with:

(No referance, no sketch, nothing but round brush, I know i way overdid the light glare thing but it was on the same layer before i realized it >_<, and i know its a little sloppy around the edges, oh well lol first try im happy with it and thats saying alot because i usualy hate my own work. Ill have referance and steps saved next time :D!)

http://www.freewebs.com/aronzani/first%2Ddigital%2Dpainting.jpg

[alkazaa]

it's very good apple ;] but i can't help you you must wait for reply from other users. This can take a while xD

[delirious]

yeah im looking forward to some contructive criticism xP

[bumskee]

delirious, nice apple. :)

firstly, there are other methods of blending obivously, but then again this thread is pretty old. haha. I must say things have changed a bit since i started this. The blending method is still very much in use but rather lower in priority now. I would simply say the most important thing is colours & values rather than blending methods, not saying they aren't important btw.

Secondly, I think the biggest mistake you made is painting without a REF. The reason is quite simple I think. We do simple studies to help us understand colours/lighting and so on.. I guess that's why it's called study. In doing so we stuff ourself with knowledge.. experiments here and there.. But without studies we often go and paint what we know instead of what we are seeing. So first! grab a real apple. that way, you can't go wrong coz the answer will be right in front of ya! :)

:D

I am ranting! heh

[Re!ke]

wow didn't know bumskee was still checking this thread, thought he had gone and died . LOL
alkazaa i only used that apple f the colours. yours is dead good. i thought it was a photo at first. ^_^
i just painted a cheetah but having some trouble with spots so i ll post it inabit and get some help. LOL.

Greetz~Re!ke

[alkazaa]

Re!ke thx ^^ but I have problem with scenery, I cant find anywhere tutorial for this. I find 2 but first is to abstract and second is more like photomontage. I will be indebtedif someone give tutorial for scenery ^^

[Re!ke]

lol. np, aya scenery is a hard one, maybe we can learn together ?? :D:D:D

anyways heres my cheetah, I CANT DO FUR OR SPOTS. argh need a hand with that i guess. lol

Greetz~Re!ke

[Re!ke]

oops its a tad on the huge side.

[Naplam]

hey guys, im new here. I just got a wacom intuos 3 9x12. this post rocks... I've learn't alot, thanks bumskee! well i did the apple exercise and here is the result. btw im only 12 and this is my first ever digital paint
I gotta say thanks to bumskee for having started up such a great post.
If anyone out there is willing to give me some help id be really greatful

http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/2120/applekd3.jpg

[bumskee]

Reike... I am alive of course!! I been meaning to start a new thread with Idiot apathy for sometime.. never got around to it.. still discussing..hehe.. :)

Naplam, woah..12? nicely done. I think you've done very well, the highlight is a little too strong compared to other bits but it actually looks alright. I think you just need to add the shadows and the whatever the appple was sitting on. Definitely do heaps more, you are on the right track mate. looking sweet!

:)

[Idiot Apathy]

Reike... I am alive of course!! I been meaning to start a new thread with Idiot apathy for sometime.. never got around to it.. still discussing..hehe.. :)

Huh, really? @_@ what did you have in mind? hehe.

[bumskee]

tom, like you do something and I spam? hahahah something along that line.

[Idiot Apathy]

Oh, so ... uhm. Uhhhh, furry?

[Datameister]

but I have problem with scenery, I cant find anywhere tutorial for this.

Scenery can indeed be tough because it presents so many different challenges. The best way to approach it, IMO, is just as you would any other art topic--do your homework. Take photos and find other people's photos and do paintings based on them. Pay attention to perspective, color choices, form, texture, and common geographical features. Keep at it, with a variety of subject matter, and you'll eventually improve. It'll take some time, but you can do it. I promise.

Specific tips...hmmm. Well, for landscapes, you really don't need many brushes. I suggest using "Chalk 17 pixels" as your brush tip (it comes with Photoshop). Set Angle Jitter to "Initial Direction"; set Opacity Jitter and Flow Jitter to "Pen Pressure." Great brush for doing foliage, rock, water, sky, clouds--you name it. The "Initial Direction" control makes this brush great for working with a dabbing motion.

Study colors closely. It's not as important as some people think, but it can be really inspiring to have beautiful colors develop in your piece early on. Use the Eyedropper tool to look at colors from photos in the Color Picker, then try to internalize trends in these colors. For the paintings themselves, though, don't use sampled colors. Try to pick them yourself, based on what you've learned.

Just keep painting. You will improve if you keep at it long enough, always carefully studying your work and figuring out what looks good and what looks bad. :) I've been focusing a lot on landscape-ish stuff for the last year, and I've improved immeasurably. Compare this painting (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/45758498/?&q=by%3Adatameister+in%3Ascraps&qh=sort%3Atime) to this one (http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/45758233/). They're from the same photo reference and done by the same artist (me). That's what a year of work will do for you. :D

[alkazaa]

Datameiste very thx for tipd, but one year is to long xD But I know i must by patient ;p My first scenery painting look just like yours ^^ I try to paint something from photography :)

[Datameister]

I know what you mean, man. :D When I first started painting, it felt like progress would be impossible or at least very far off. But the last year has gone by pretty quickly, and I figure if I keep working this hard--or harder--for the next few, my skill level will be where I want it to be. Or at least, I'll be where I'd like to be right now. By then, I'm sure my standards will have risen to surpass my progress. :) That's the vicious cycle of improvement.

Have fun with the photo-based paintings, but don't forget to throw in some original works, too. It's good to find a balance between the two.

[Re!ke]

lmao, Spam Threads FTW.

omg your only 12 Naplam, that is a quality apple. how did you get the detail and the lighting, its a mystery to me. my apple sucks compared tothat AND your 4 years younger. PFFFFFFF. lol. (btw this is a compliment)

so anyone know a good fur tecnique??

Greetz~Re!ke

[alkazaa]

Now I made scenery of beach with waterfalls. It's not finished yet. I must paint some rocks on beach and sand ;) but you can say what is wrong ^^ btw Datameister this chalk brush is great :) is just perfect for my waterfalls.

http://alkazaa.w.interia.pl/scenery1.jpg
http://alkazaa.w.interia.pl/scenery2.jpg

[Datameister]

You say you have a problem with painting scenery? If those are painted from scratch...wow, I don't know what to say. They look great to me, though the sand needs more definition. You didn't use any photos directly in the process?

Oh, and I think you meant "waves," not "waterfalls." :)

[alkazaa]

I used photo from book ;p but I still have problem with clouds ^^ :lens:

Datameister sory for my language :P I learn it 4th year and sometime I make a lot of mistakes ;p

[Datameister]

But I what I mean is, did you actually incorporate parts of any photos into the painting, or is it 100% your work?

These days, I approach clouds the same way I do scenery--lots of dabs of paint using that chalk brush. If you do them on a new layer, you can use the Eraser tool to refine their edges, too. As with anything else, practice is the key to improving. So...let's see some clouds!

Don't worry about the language thing. English is an incredibly dumb language. I just figured you might want someone to let you know. I mean, I speak a little French, and if I were on a French forum, I'd want people to be correcting me all over the place so I could get better. :D Anyway, no need to apologize.

[Re!ke]

those Waves rule, they look surfable :D

ye man the english language sucks blooming rediculous.

GreetZ~Re!ke

[alkazaa]

this is final version of beach ^^ I decide to make less rocks beacuse i can't paint them ^^ so if you cant do something just don't do it xD. Have you some tips for me? What do or what don't do :}

http://alkazaa.w.interia.pl/scener4.jpg

and one more thing ^^ Datameister, I don't incorporate any photo ^^ I just watch and paint ;p

[Datameister]

I have no critiques whatsoever, alkazaa...that looks awesome, man. Actually, I don't know why you thing you have so much trouble...I'd count myself as very fortunate if I could paint that. Keep up the good work! :D

[alkazaa]

big thx Datameister ^^ but those bigger rocks are ugly ;p Have you got some more good tips? :P Something like this chalk brush? :P or some tutorials for painting something like this awsome creatures on the top this site :)

[Re!ke]

lmao, u dont need it Alkazaa, ( i m not saying u cant learn more but from what i have seen it rocks)
get a sketch book flowing!

[Re!ke]

lmao, u dont need it Alkazaa, ( i m not saying u cant learn more but from what i have seen it rocks)
get a sketch book flowing!

[Decimus]

My first attempt, I used multiply and screen for dark and light values. I'm not confident on what brushes to use or either how soft and hard brushes work. I just recently purchased a Wacom and I love all the possibilities, but it's really discouraging. I know I can draw, but this has surey brought me back to grade school level.

http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/9366/firstattemptvx2.jpg

[Datameister]

Have you got some more good tips? Something like this chalk brush?

Ummm...despite what everyone tells you, experiment with the Smudge tool. If you use Scattering, it can be great for producing certain blends. But don't get too caught up on it.

[Tiggerer]

Ok, we all know we need tablets to paint, that's not what I'm talking about here

I've been able to increase my speed in Photoshop tremendously with the use of the Contour "Shuttle Pro 2". It a USB device which is mainly meant for video editing but can be used with any application. It takes a little time to set up but it works great for making brush adjustments and opacity changes on the fly. I have the jog portion of the disk set to spin my brush diameters up and down, and a little trickier set up for the shuttle ring. The shuttle ring is set up to increase Opacity in one direction and Flow in the other.

A little time spent up front figuring out how to program in your most used PS commands, then a couple of weeks forcing yourself to learn them (and subsisting button assignments when you realize a more useful solution), pays off HUGE down the road. Trust me on this one.

I also use Xkeys programmable macro buttons, but they're really more just for convenience (I dispise three-fingered contortionist key commands!)

ArtProCafe.com

[shega]

hi i'm new here...well sort of
first of all thank's to bumskee and all you guys...
but i've got some question here...how do you clean up the transparent edge left bye the brush???

[Decimus]

There is a plethora of ways to solve this, but I think this is the easiest solution.

1. Make sure wand selection has anti-alias selected and contiguous.

2. Use wand to capture all negative space, by selecting outside area of your object. Repeat till all spaces are selected while holding (shift) and clicking areas.

3. Tap "I" for eyedrop and select the background color

4. Select paint bucket and repeat step 1. for selections.

5. Fill in area contiuously until brush edges are sharp.
( *note* it will look blocky zoomed in. but that shouldn't matter for normal view)

hope that answered your question.

[Datameister]

1. Make sure wand selection has anti-alias selected and contiguous.

2. Use wand to capture all negative space, by selecting outside area of your object. Repeat till all spaces are selected while holding (shift) and clicking areas.

3. Tap "I" for eyedrop and select the background color

4. Select paint bucket and repeat step 1. for selections.

5. Fill in area contiuously until brush edges are sharp.
( *note* it will look blocky zoomed in. but that shouldn't matter for normal view)


I disagree, decimus. While this method can often work for pieces with little background, it is practically useless for actual paintings. I'd say you're better off just erasing or painting over the dirty edges.

If in doubt, copy everything to a new layer and paint over the rough edges. You can always throw out that layer and start over if the attempt doesn't look right.

The problem can be mostly avoided if you use hard-edged brushes and press hard with the stylus. Remember that if you're using an image-based brush, it may appear much sharper at small sizes. I often rough in an object's edges with a small brush, then go in with a much larger size and fill in the center.

[Idiot Apathy]

As you paint, don't worry too much about the mess ups and soggy exterior edges. If you fix them then it will only slow you down - towards the end refine the exterior edges, it's much faster and better to paint over things rather than use digital trickery in my opinion.

[mrQ]

just wana say hi &
big :at: :ah: :aa: :an: :ak: :ay: :ao: :au:
threads like this helped me alot on my "start" in digital painting

the lepard is by reference

(PSws the catch with Proof Colors?... when i save some of my files in .jpeg they loock darker)

[shega]

uh i'm kind of blind in color...so i've got a question 4 bumskee...in the 1st page of this thread there's a girl holding a ketchup tutorial...i don't get it why you make the shade purple?? and what colour do you use for the skin after the shade

[bumskee]

shega... purple coz purple makes you go faster? I don't know i mean.. I don't think it's important to pick the right hue, but more of the right value.. and as long as you give every other colour the right treatment.. Of course I am guessing and doing things without knowing why most of the time. Maybe Tom (idiot apathy) can explain it better.. he knows how things work and I ask him questions myself. Again same for the skin colour too.. I just randomly pick or should I say what looks "right" and this.. Sorry I can't seem to explain things better. But this thread is about painting simple fruits and some blending methods. :D keep doing them and you'll get better at it I guess.

For cleaning edges? I just paint it.. hate getting all these tools out.. I mean if you want it clean!!! paint it clean. :D haha yeah I know I am too stupid to get all technical most of the time.. again try and take it in a simple approach.. paint what you are seeing. Simple.. and not rely on photoshop to change your course of painting. :D

[Idiot Apathy]

mrQ: You might check your color profile; I have no clue what you need as I've never had problems but that should lead you in the right direction.

shega: I think, strictly speaking the purple in min's illustration isn't really realistic. You will see things like this, probably around dusk or if there was a large amount of purple reflected light. However it works here because his values are good and the temperature relationship is consistant. I really love exaggerated or stylistic temperature relationships. Right, anyways on to something practical - you are going to see hue shifts just about everywhere, a lot of this is due to multiple lightsources (outside for example you have the sun and sky for starters) and also due to highlights greater amount of reflectance. Hue shifts is also something I love to play with. Hope this has given you some things to think about, cheers!

[bumskee]

Well speak of the devil, there you go... told you he could explain it. :p

oh and I don't think it works too well that chick on the first page.. I would so painter her diffferently now I think..

[shega]

thanks a lot man. i'd appreciate it....

[shega]

here's what i'm doing at my work by the way...

[zombiekirby]

just tried the apple one out hope it appeared cause i am really unsure on how to do this. :O

[willism21]

My first attempt with a Tablet:

[zombiekirby]

i like it. nice and bright

[Xdreamer]

I will stick into this:

First try in painter:

http://www.xdreams.ch/images/painting/sketches/apple.jpg

http://www.xdreams.ch/images/painting/sketches/apple2.jpg

http://www.xdreams.ch/images/painting/sketches/banana.jpg


Photoshop apple:

http://www.xdreams.ch/images/painting/sketches/apple4.jpg


Don't know why they look so washed out. Used hard round and chalk brushes :[

[willism21]

My 2nd attempt, roughly 25 minutes:

[Nigel]

My third attempt at painting in photoshop.. First two were just too emberassing.. I still have a lot to learn :)

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7995/appel2ii.jpg

[Nigel]

Here's another one.. Actuelly amazed myself by how much progress i'm making. this one is much better.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8210/appel29sc.jpg

Not quite finished, but i'm sadly out of time.

[Wolfbane]

please paint something more than fruit, i'm going mad :P

[jasonarthur]

Here's my take on the apple study. Only the second time I've painted anything digitally.

http://www.jasonarthur.com/images/Apple.jpg

The second attachment is my first attempt (mostly that was just for playing around with brushes and learning the way Photoshop works with painting.

http://www.jasonarthur.com/images/equalsII.jpg

-- J

[HuBBaTheMan]

Awesome thread which has taught me a lot! I'm currently in the progress of learning how to draw and paint and this thread really did help me a lot with the digital side.

This was the first one i did using this color mixing technique:

http://hubba.is-a-geek.net/anime_progress.jpg

And then i tried this on a proper portrait.

http://hubba.is-a-geek.net/portrait_progress.jpg

They are not perfect by any means but i'm well happy with them so far =)

[Longxiang]

Hello, I just registered but I've been following this thread for a while.

I repainted the image of the girl in the OP. No pad. I'm doing this with a mouse which is why there's not much detail and my lines are all spastic.

http://img.waffleimages.com/42f6ecc33f5dcfcf4b0bb798fac83370843f43bf/bottle-baby.gif

[Longxiang]

http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/3131/bottlebaby5av.gif

Edit: there we go :D

[mrQ]

Idiot Apathy - yeah it turns out that i have to hit "view proof colors" every time i start a painting
one more question - if i rotate my cavanas only by 90* is the quality afected somehow?
thanks.

[Idiot Apathy]

Dunno, I don't think so.

[Ocksen]

Digital painting is one of my favorite forms of art on the computer. I have only done a few pieces, and since I am still a beginner of sorts I would like your opinions! I know they aren't THAT great, but I want to get better! I thought this thread might be best to post them in, since I don't want to make my own thread at the moment. I plan on doing a lot more pieces in the short future.
Also, I do these with a mouse =(

http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/9900/ocksenwallpaper1bl8.png
http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8049/painandsweetnesseffect7ni.jpg
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5553/ocksenfaceit2.jpg

The first one is my latest, the others are from last summer..

[Trashy]

willism21 - Hey man, how's it going? I'll tell you right now that your second attempt is far better then the first. You got the basic colors down for the orange. Just think about pushing your shadows more. You might want to put a shadow under it too. A good idea is to sometimes change your work all into greyscale to get a good idea on your lighting. Anyway, keep working on that tablet. You''l get better the more you work on it. Maybe show your process next time. See you next week!

Ocksen- Umm...you are probably going to hate me when I say this but I think it would a good idea to maybe put these in the critique center. In anycase pretty good without using a tablet. The first one was pretty nice looking. That one caught my eye...*sniff*........but now I see a red x. I'll give you my thoughts anyway on it since I still remember pretty good. You did a good job on the face. You could maybe work on his pants more. They were a real solid black from what I remember. Just give a couple highlights in there to suggest form. Was he suppose to be floating too? If not a shadow would help. A tablet would suite you well I think.

Okay, found a huge 20mm bullet shell used in world war 2 and thought it would make a cool study.

[Ocksen]

Trashy - Ha, yeah, when I posted, I wasn't very acquainted with the forums, but after browsing a bit I found the Critique Center and realized it would have been a much more suitable place to post in. Thanks for the critique though! It's always hard when getting accustomed to new forums set up differently than what you are used to.

[Idiot Apathy]

Trashy; Good, you've got lots of detail and color information as well as visual interest but you are I think missing something very important, form. Flip in into grayscale to get a better look. It appears as more of a flat cardboard cutout than a cylinder. A teacher of mine told me once that he has his foundation students draw an avocado twice - the first time they just do their own thing and most of them go straight into all the bumpy detail and lose the big picture. The second day he guides them, telling them first to work the big form, show the lighting - where the form turns etc and then put the detail. The first results look like you've let all the air out of a basketball and the second are as you can imagine are much better 3d illusions. Cheers hope that made sense!

[Godslayer]

I've waited for so long just to realize I have to learn a whole new medium! Oh well, heres to starting from scratch.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4414/rockdigi4fx.png (http://imageshack.us)


Now with orange

http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/5420/orangebi3.png (http://imageshack.us)

[Trashy]

Idiot Apathy- Your comment makes perfect sense. Ah, I really didn't catch that at all. Okay, I did turn everything greyscale and blocked the shape in with larger strokes. Does have more of a 3d-dimension now I think. Thanks man for spotting that:)

[Anid Maro]

As per your request (read: demand :)) Idiot Apathy, here I am!

By the way, cool bullet Trashy. I liked the cutout feel, but Idiot's right in that it doesn't do much in the way of realism. The new greyscale version you posted has a much better sense of form.

Now I offer my sacrifice to the critique gods, a simple apple.

[WhoIsLikeGod]

This is an awesome thread, so much helpful information in here. Anyway, i tried, but it wasn't really good.. Need some help on how to make it better..

[Datameister]

Don't be afraid to go a little darker in the shaded areas, WhoIsLikeGod. Also, you've got a highlight showing up in the shade, on the left side of the apple--that'd never happen like that. In addition, the drop shadow isn't shaped correctly. It should be broader, and probably with softer edges.

Keep up the good work!

[WhoIsLikeGod]

Thank you so much for your reply, it really helped.. I'll try on a new apple tomorrow i think xD (as soon as i've got some sleep) xD

[Yardrhymes]

This thread has definitely got it going on....i've been reading through all the posts and have learnt so much, here is my little attempt at digital painting..... http://www.davsys.net/paint/apple2.jpgnot sure if image shows....new to this

[Rael]

Hey guys...I'm new here. This is the first time I've tried anything like this--I've been a smudge slave for a long time, and I've never been good at digi-painting anyway. Please tell me how this can be improved? I'm not so happy with it! And particularly the top of the apple where it dips into that little...dimple where the stem goes. (My apple had no stem)

[Pixelsoldier]

:nohope: here is my first ever attempt of airbrushing and i got my wacom for christmas but only used it properly today. I dont have much artistic experience cause i just turned 13 on valentines day. Well here it is hope its good enough. Please comment

[Konstruktion]

Hey, i bought my tablet a couple of days ago, and everything i do turn into crap. Some basic advice would suit well!

[plainbrush]

Hi all,
This is my first realism painting, I can't handle the highlights and blending very well. Perhaps some advice will be helpful. Thks


http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/plainbrush/PB.jpg

[alkazaa]

sarcophagus: try to add more details, in previous site datameister writed about this when i paint my first scenery.

plainbrush: very nice apple ;] great job ^^

[Datameister]

Hey, i bought my tablet a couple of days ago, and everything i do turn into crap. Some basic advice would suit well!

* The grass should be more yellowish, with saturation and contrast decreasing near the horizon.
* The sky should become darker, closer to purple, and more saturated near the top of the painting.
* Clouds near the horizon should be smaller and more closely spaced than those overhead.
* Using brushes that simply repeat at the same size and with high spacing tend to look very obviously "digital." Try to use brushes with smaller spacing values and/or some shape dynamics.
* Pick harder-edged brushes, especially for the machinery and such.
* Don't use such a square aspect ratio. Make the painting either taller than it is wide or wider than it is tall.
* Experiment with the Rule of Thirds when it comes to composition.
* Study reference for everything. You're inventing these things based on your memories of what they look like, but memories can be deceiving. Look at photos while you're painting. Think, too...for example, why is there a very short fence sitting out in the middle of a field? That wouldn't be done in real life, since there's no point to its existence.
* Keep painting! It may take centuries of hard work, but you'll get to the skill level you want to achieve if you keep at it. ;)

Good luck!

[plainbrush]

plainbrush: very nice apple ;] great job ^^

Thanks alkazaa. but it's a cherry with a short stem :-)
Here's a second attempt.. hope it's better.
Can someone teach me how to paint the casting shadow? Thanks

http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w279/plainbrush/Pear01.jpg

[alkazaa]

ok this time it seems to be an apple;p but it's not important what you paint because it's technical very good

[plainbrush]

Thanks alkazaa you're kind, but this time it's a green pear haha. I've just starting to learn drawing recently, it's really tough for me to self learn drawing figures and objects :\

I saw your painting of water waves, looks great, how did you go about painting it??

[Barts]

Thought i'd contribute, i suck but here's my 4 apples

[alkazaa]

plainbrush: I find picture and I try to "copy". Because orginal picture have too many rocks I paint simpler version :P I think the best way to learn painting is looking and trying copy orginal. When you learn this you can paint your own arts ^^
If you are looking for good tips ask datamaister :P

[Rael]

Still looking for feedback on my apple...anyone? :/ It's up a few posts. Could really use some pointers.

[thesaint]

Hi Rael, I am new here too, but i think I can share my opnion and try to help you too :^^: well, I think it is very good and you just need some more practice.
The top os the apple is too green I think, you should use more the yellow and red there, (try using some white too, with a looooow opacity). You need to practice some more blending too, try to use more colors besides your pallete, and aways use the Eyedropper Tool.
The last thing, you use a tablet, right? So turn on the opacity control by the pressure :D

That's what I think, I'll post mine soon

[life on the sofa]

rael, your apple isnt bad, just i think you have applied the gloss in an inafective way, the 4 blobs are less realistic than the smooth stroke of shine you have around the upper rim. :D just my thoughts, but im not very clever so meh, hehe. heres my attempt but only done with a touch pad an no ref so rather poor.

http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/1920/peardh2.png

[life on the sofa]

Can someone teach me how to paint the casting shadow? Thanks

shadow casting is fairly easy, just decide where you want the light source to be coming from, i usualy mark this with an arrows right from the start to make sure i know where to lighten and darken, and of course cast a shadow. u usualy i do the shadow with a soft or frayed edge brush to give it a blurryer effect like on the pear above( above shadow has poor shape to it tho)then just take a few moment to think about how the angle of the lightsource will affect the length/width of the shadow the with very low opacity on a new layer i try and lay down a boarder for the shadow then fill it in on the background layer and let the blur of the brush overpower the boader or you can just delete/rub out the layer above with boarder.


try it out, practice makes perfect( i need practice! hehe)

[Rael]

Thanks for the feed back, guys. Yes, this way of blending is new for me, so I'm definatly practicing it more.

[plainbrush]

the best way to learn painting is looking and trying copy orginal. When you learn this you can paint your own arts

Getting a good reference photo and learn to paint from it seems to be a great way to learn ..it makes sense. Thanks alkazaa again.
Do you know where can I find good quality photos? Stock photos cost some dollars..



shadow casting is fairly easy, just decide where you want the light source to be coming from, i usualy mark this with an arrows right from the start to make sure i know where to lighten and darken.


Thanks life on the sofa on the steps. I will work on it

:-)

[alkazaa]

here is site with good photos www.sxc.hu you can use it for non-comercial projects :) so you can train on those photos ^^

[Konstruktion]

sarcophagus: try to add more details, in previous site datameister writed about this when i paint my first scenery.


Thanks man, I'll loook that up!

And wow Datameister! Thanks a lot, I think im going to find some nice photos and do some serious studying. Really nice and inspiring words!

[payus]

Hey everybody and thanks to bumskee for this thread.
Here are my attempts ;all from life and im not really happy with any of them.
I think my biggest prob are colours , especially for shadows .
Any help and critics would be nice.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e129/shock4/apfel.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e129/shock4/bananeKopie.jpg
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e129/shock4/roterpaprikaKopie.jpg
prolly 3hours:
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e129/shock4/bossbottle1-1.jpg

[zoephoenix]

here's my apple and my mango... yay me :p

[plainbrush]

here is site with good photos www.sxc.hu

Wow alkazaa the website is really GOOD! The photos are huge and clear :-) thanks cheers

[ubiquitous]

Thanks for all the tips guys!

This is my first ever attempt at a digital painting. I think that it's mediocre. Putting in details without having them overpower the whole painting is quite difficult.

Yes, it's another apple. It didn't have a stem.

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/3448/appleworkflowzk8.jpg

Edit: And, by the way, there are some absolutely phenomenal works on here. Good stuff folks!

[alkazaa]

ubiquitous: interesting style of paiting :) I must try it because this apple look great ^^

[Nirtak]

hi, i'm a graphic-design student, doing type-stuff most of the time and havn't painted for years... just wanted to give it a try and it was a lot of fun! :^^: criticism? please!
and of course: you've got some impressive stuff here!

[Konstruktion]

At least I tried hehe, ref used, think Im gonna do more of them.

[821hero]

Liquidspider - that is pretty good! Better than my first attempt, lol! Keep it up - Try to get a more evenly blended surface...and show your steps too!

Okay, okay - bumskee needled me into painting again..sorry it's been awhile, life's been busy...but here she is: Super Teigrob! :rolleyes: hehe, whatever...

sketch:

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob.jpg

solids:

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_solids.jpg

From here on out, I did one piece at a time to completion...so this is the kinkajou completed (nothing else)

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details.jpg

hair...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details2.jpg

skin...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details3.jpg

shirt progression...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details4.jpg

shirt finished and pants started...

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_details5.jpg

And everything else.

http://www.raja-animation.com/rachel/images/horse_zebras_deer/Super_Teigrob_fini.jpg

I think I did a good job on avoiding too much highlighting...what do you think?

hi plz can u tell me how u get in step where u do a shirt to another step where whirt is complete i dont know how can i get to another step i allway stuck at that step plz someone help!!!!

[wanwan]

When this thread started I did the apple tutorial thing, just to make sure what I was doing was right & here is the result :D

Any crits/comms would be great; a link to my folio page is given below for anyone who is interested!

Thanks

Rowena

[Emerald_Mara85]

okay, this is my 1st digital apple...okay I know it sucks, so please tell what am I doing wrong...Can't seem to make the details soft or right like in the tutorial...Still, I don't wanna rely on smurge and blur like the 'Doctor' ordered. Maybe I just need good old fashion practice.

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k177/EmeraldMara85/applefinal.jpg

Oh yeah...I did it with a mouse. Now please help poor me and the people who post their work here before me. Thank you.
I am literally begging here, you know?
My reference was a small picture from the internet. I guess I should take some pictures on my own...